Signs your DM is an imcompetent twit.

[Orco42]

Gaining xp fast is not a sign of a bad DM (if you fought fights that were a challenge). But all of the other points are valid, and unfortunately I have seen DM's that did some of those things.

Looks like its time for you to DM.

 

[JacktheRabbit]

Nope, he called me a whiner and asked me to leave. I guess he cannot accept criticism nor can he accept advice.

Everything was his way or no way. Part of the problem is probably that he is a college student majoring in fiction writing. So everything is his baby.

BTW, the heavy XP wouldnt be so bad if almost every fight ends and I sit there knowing 5 or 6 things our foe could have done to at least take half of us down, escape, or destroy all of us. At that point you level too fast and do not even feel like you earned it.

Gaining xp fast is not a sign of a bad DM (if you fought fights that were a challenge). But all of the other points are valid, and unfortunately I have seen DM's that did some of those things.

Looks like its time for you to DM.

 

[Crothian]

BTW: leveling up every session is bad.
That's an established belief.
One Reason: it doesn't give the player enough time to get acquainted with the new abilities that come with each level, and it's not beneficial to character development in the long run.

DMs can suck. I've played with some terrible ones. PCs who think they can DM, then you give them the chance and they soon realize how tough it is. I don't know of anyone who denies that there are bad DMs. Heck, even good DMs have bad nights.

Back to gaining levels every session. Well, this is very misleading. What defines a session? For instance

Group A: They play once a week for four hours. They gain a level abount once every four sessions.

Group B: They play once a week for about 8 hours. They gain a level once every two sessions

Group C: THey game once a week for 16 hours (these are my college days ). THey gain a level once a week

Each group playus for about 16 total hours before leveling, yet because one group plays longer per s session you are saying they are doing it wrong. I agree that about 16 hours of game time is ussually needed to gain a level. WotC did a poll and that was the average it took gamers. Anyone still have the results of that? It was realeased in the early days of 3rd ed.

 

[hong]

Oh.
Face it, you DM-apologists: DocMoriarity has painted a very damning picture of a DM that sucks.

The issue isn't whether DMs can suck, it's that DocM isn't exactly the most credible person in the world when it comes to complaining.

IMO only, of course.

 

[JacktheRabbit]

We gamed once a week for 4 hours maybe 5 each week. More often than not we leveled at the end of a session.

DMs can suck. I've played with some terrible ones. PCs who think they can DM, then you give them the chance and they soon realize how tough it is. I don't know of anyone who denies that there are bad DMs. Heck, even good DMs have bad nights.

Back to gaining levels every session. Well, this is very misleading. What defines a session? For instance

Group A: They play once a week for four hours. They gain a level abount once every four sessions.

Group B: They play once a week for about 8 hours. They gain a level once every two sessions

Group C: THey game once a week for 16 hours (these are my college days ). THey gain a level once a week

Each group playus for about 16 total hours before leveling, yet because one group plays longer per s session you are saying they are doing it wrong. I agree that about 16 hours of game time is ussually needed to gain a level. WotC did a poll and that was the average it took gamers. Anyone still have the results of that? It was realeased in the early days of 3rd ed.

 

[JacktheRabbit]

I feel so touched that you think you know me so well from a few posts on a variety of topics.

The issue isn't whether DMs can suck, it's that DocM isn't exactly the most credible person in the world when it comes to complaining.

IMO only, of course.

 

[Vocenoctum]

1) puts a party with 2-2nd and 2-3rd characters against a CR: 5 encounter, miscounts how far gone (negative hp) one is, then lays the blame for the death at the hand of the only PC left standing. (Didn't stabilize him, even though he was dead by then.)

2) Dismisses out of hand any feat or domain from FRCS or Dragon without review, while allowing a prestige class from the web and other house rules.

3) The bound kid being escorted manages to escape over and over again, no matter who's watching him.

4) EgoNPCs, former characters of the DM/ GM who come in to save the day. If they're opposing you, they're impossible to beat, if they're not, they'll hand the mission to you out of their kind heart...

 

[Poster Bard]

Posting as a player, I think that DocM needs to be a DM. He's always complaining about games that aren't being run the way he thinks they should be run. It doesn't matter whether he is whining or posting with reasons. I could care less how anyone wants to classify the posts. From the posts I've read, he's never satisfied with the way games are run. He often posts very rudely about how his opinions are not in synch with other players and DMs.

He needs to run a game as a DM so he can find a game that runs the way he wants it to run not so he can find out how tough it is. DM's can suck. I hope that DocM finds that he is not one of those DM's. If he is not just whining, and is not one of those people who is more happy complaining than trying, he will accept the challenge and maybe be happier for it.

Reapersaurus, you should not be so quick to dismiss advice based on what you assume. I am posting as a player. Try not to be defensive about what you assume. It makes you generalize about the source of advice and dismiss it without actually knowing what you are talking about.

I have read DocM posts and agree that he should not be playing with the group that he was asked to leave. I agree that he should not join another group where the same situation exists. It looks like there are other players in that group that are happy. He should start his own group and run the game the way he thinks it should be run.

I wish him luck.

 

[S'mon]

I feel so touched that you think you know me so well from a few posts on a variety of topics.

Don't worry about Hong, Doc. He's like this with everyone.

 

[hong]

I feel so touched that you think you know me so well from a few posts on a variety of topics.

You'd be amazed how much you can learn about someone from, oh, 218 posts on a variety of topics.